On April 8, 2022, unknown jihadists ambushed a Burkinabe military base near the town of Namissiguima, in Sanmatenga Province, Burkina Faso.

Prelude

In 2015, northern Burkina Faso became embroiled in a jihadist insurgency, after Islamist groups from eastern Mali infiltrated north and central provinces. Sanmatenga province became a hotspot of violence, with attacks in 2019 ramping up and killing dozens of people. In January 2022, the elected president Roch Marc Christian Kaboré was overthrown by disgruntled military captains led by Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba over Kabore's mismanagement of the war. Despite this, in March 2022, over 30 people were killed in jihadist attacks in northern Burkina Faso.^[1] The attack in Namissiguima was a response to battles in Barsalogho the previous day, where the Burkinabe army went on the offensive.^[2] In the battles, twenty jihadists were killed.^[2]

Attack

Around 5:00 am on April 8, around 40 gunmen attacked the town of Namissiguima and it's military base, setting fire to houses and the local market.^[3][4] The Burkinabe government stated that their forces took heavy losses in relation to the jihadists, but did not give a toll for jihadist casualties, although RFI claimed there were some killed.^[5][2]

Casualties and aftermath

The Burkinabe government stated twelve Burkinabe soldiers were killed, along with four VDP.^[1] Twenty-one soldiers were injured as well.^[5] The government also stated the arrival of reinforcements to the area.^[1]